19.9.17

IPOB’s ban, link to terrorism unconstitutional, says Saraki

• ‘Lopsided appointments caused agitations’
• Lawmakers back Jonathan’s call for Council of State meeting
• Army defends move against pro-Biafra supporters
Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday faulted the declaration of
the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation by
the army and the proscription of the group by the south-east governors,
saying both actions were taken in breach of the constitution.
In a statement by Saraki to journalists yesterday, he declared that
the actions of the military and the Igbo governors did not follow due
process and so were unconstitutional.
“Our laws make clear provisions for taking such actions and without
the due process being followed, such a declaration cannot have effect,”
Saraki declared.

“I am sure the president will do the needful by initiating the right
process. This will go a long way in demonstrating to the world at large
that we are a country that operates by laid down process under every
circumstance. So, those who have been hammering on this point should
maintain their cool,” he said.
The Senate president also condemned the alleged abuse of human rights
by the military. “The military should allow themselves to be guided by
their training which emphasises respect for human rights, even in war.
Also, giving the nature of this particular situation, the military has
every reason to be hesitant in the use of force,” he added.
If this approximates the position of the legislature on the military
operations in the Southeast, it reveals once more the widening gap
between the executive and the National Assembly on policy issues
To Saraki, government is unnecessarily overstretching the military by
deploying soldiers for operations that could have been handled by other
security agencies.
“It is my view that we should not overstretch the military. We need
to protect our military against dissipation of their fighting strength.
And this means we need to strengthen the police and equip them with the
capacity to deal with civil crisis. That is why we, in the National
Assembly, are already reviewing the Police Act and also looking at the
possibility of enabling other para-military agencies to help in curbing
civil unrest and maintenance of law and order,” he said.
The Senate president said the National Assembly intended to
investigate the military exercise in the south-east. “We want to be able
to sift the facts from the fiction and determine who did what. It is
quite clear that all the facts are not yet known. We assure Nigerians
that there will be no cover-up. We intend to lay the facts bare,” he
said.
Also, some lawmakers in the National Assembly have asked President
Muhammadu Buhari to immediately heed the call by former President
Goodluck Jonathan to convene the Council of State meeting so that the
issues could be properly addressed.
They blamed the rising agitation in the south- east on the
discriminatory appointments made by the Buhari administration since
2015.
Senator Sam Anyanwu (PDP, Imo State), stated that the Council of State
meeting was one of the first steps that ought to have been taken.
According to him, President Buhari would have tapped very well from
the wisdom of members of the Council of State on how best to address the
agitations instead of jumping into it and making grievous mistakes.

Jonathan had last week urged Buhari to convene the meeting, saying
his observations indicated that the unrest could become a full-blown
conflict if not immediately checked by the country’s leaders.
The president and chairman of the council, vice president as deputy
chairman, former presidents and heads of the state, former chief
justices, the incumbent president of the Senate and speaker of the House
of Representatives, incumbent state governors and the attorney-general
of the federation are members of the body.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has said
the military is not under any form of political pressure on the position
it took by proscribing the activities of IPOB.
Buratai, however, noted that it was only the Federal Government that
could take a final decision on it, adding that there were guidelines in
the terrorism Act that should be followed by relevant government
agencies.
He made the comments yesterday in Abuja while answering questions
from journalists shortly after addressing principal staff officers,
corps, formations and operations commanders, commandants of Nigerian
Army and corps schools at the second and third Quarters Conference 2017
of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at the Army Headquarters’ Officers
Mess.
According to him, the military has the duty and constitutional
responsibility to protect lives and property in the face of internal and
external threats to the territorial integrity of the country, and that
the actions against IPOB were necessitated by the provisions of the
constitution.“Training is a continuous exercise.
Since we came on board we have been having a series of exercises. We did
the same set of exercises in 2016 and we are repeating the same thing
this year. You are aware of Habin Kunama II, the on-going Egwu Eke II in
the south and very soon, at the end of Operation Python Dance, we will
move into Crocodile Smile II.
“This is just to reassure Nigerians, law abiding citizens that the
Nigerian Army and indeed other security agencies are really concerned
with the safety and security of their lives and property,” the COAS
said.

On the proscription of IPOB, Buratai said: ”You call it political
pressure, you should understand the context by which the Nigerian Army
is operating. The Nigerian Army is part of the political consideration
in the democratic system.
“It is part of the democratic process, it is a product of the
democratic governance. We are not receiving any pressure; we are giving
what the constitution has provided for us. Constitutionally, our
responsibilities are for us, so we are not under any pressure
whatsoever.
“Whatever anyone is saying, we will refer him back to the
constitution. There are several provisions that give us those
responsibilities and also to carry out such task as duly assigned by the
government or by the constituted authority.”